This is the second part in my steemit introduction trilogy where I talk about my experiences with sleep paralysis. You can find my first part here: https://steemit.com/introduceyourself/@luckyadder/hello-steamit-let-me-introduce-myself-through-a-story-part-1 

PART 2

Life went on pretty much as normal. I experienced a couple more episodes of this strange condition, though far less sever and never hallucinating. I had read that most people experienced this a couple of times in their lives, so I already knew that I was more prone to it than the average person, and after a little probing, discovered that my mother, and her mother, had experienced it pretty bad. All in all, despite some occasional apprehension before going to bed, life was fine.

The Shadow

This strange period of limbo lasted for a couple of months. Then stuff got serious. The episodes started to increase in frequency, until  they occurred on a weekly basis, always accompanied by an increasing sense of dread and uneasiness. I started to see shadows move, almost as if with intent. I started to see lights which resembled eyes to flicker in and out of existence and I always felt as though there was an unknown, threatening presence in the room.. But most of all, I was feeling more and more unstable. 

That's when I saw it. The first thing I noticed that morning was a relentless pressure on my chest. The second thing was the telling existential angst which unfailingly accompanied these episodes and finally, as I opened my eyes, I noticed it.

 Now, an important thing to note about sleep paralysis is that you aren't always lucid, in fact, a lot of the times you're downright batty. Your mental state lies somewhere in between dreamland, and reality. On the one hand, everything feels a lot more real than a dream and you remember a lot more of it once you snap out of it. On the other, your mind is still following a dream-like logic.

 Now, what did it look like, the thing on my chest at that moment. Well, it was hard to tell. The best way to describe it would be simply to state that it appeared to be a demon made of shadows. The shadows also blended into the actual darkness of the room, so an exact description would be beyond reasonable. What I can say is this: it appeared to have wings, its eyes were dim but red, and despite not being visible, for some reason i was convinced that it had a full set of razor sharp teeth. 

We proceeded to engage in an unsettling staring contest. My mind, in its adulterated state, informing me that I was very close to death. My thoughts claimed this with a deafening conviction, forbidding any form of rational thought. I didn't just think that i was about to die, I KNEW it. I felt something similar to a talon rest against my neck, and tighten as this thing's eyes, the only clear feature, closed in towards my face. Then the thing dissolved back into the shadows, and I could no longer find its eyes. That was the first time I saw the shadow demon, and now I was scared.

Thanks for reading! Make sure you don't miss the third and final installment in this series where my experiences hit a climax and I talk about what to expect from this account in the future.

Photo credits in chronological order: http://aplus.com/a/7-terrifying-facts-and-stories-about-sleep-paralysis-that-will-haunt-your-dreams?no_monetization=true , http://media.themovieaimless.com/tag/demons/ , http://roiler.deviantart.com/art/glowing-red-eyes-in-the-dark-14872787